[quote=Art_in_FL
Surge strips should be marked with the month and year so you know how long they have been in place. It is really easy to plug one in and then forget about it for a decade. They need to be replaced regularly. How often you replace them depends on how tough they are, how many and how large the spikes they absorb are, and how expensive the gear they are protecting is.
[/quote]

I do have a "storm protocol" for summer thunderstorms - unplug the file servers, disconnect the cable internet feed - but I can't always be home for that.

Is there any test to see if the suppressors are still working? I sank some serious $$ into high-end surge protection strips (big metal units) but that was close to 10 years ago (as you said, set & forget). We don't have a lot of lightning strikes that come close to the house, but we do have enough line hits in the summer that we see some noticeable wallops on the lights, followed by 15-20 seconds of brownout and then dark.

I presume my suppression gear is kaput...